Sharon S. Laing

University of Washington Tacoma | UW Tacoma · Faculty of Nursing

Introduction: This study presents healthcare providers' perspectives on the role of digital technology in promoting health for low-resource communities. Methods: One focus group and a key informant interview lasting sixty minutes were conducted. Respondents were medical doctors, behavioral health specialists, medical assistants, nurse practitioners...

Safety-net systems in the United States are crucial in ensuring that low-income, low-resourced and marginalized communities have access to healthcare. Many patients of safety-net clinics are from minoritized racial, ethnic and gender communities who are subject to unique challenges when accessing care, particularly transgender patients. This study...

We assessed knowledge, attitude, and provision of recommended fall prevention (FP) practices by employees of senior-serving organization and participation in FP practices by at-risk elders. The Washington State Department of Health administered structured telephone surveys to 50 employees and 101 elders in Washington State. Only 38% of employees fe...

Background: Colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) reduces morbidity and mortality; however, the positive benefits might be partially offset by long-term distress following positive screening results. We examined relationships among colorectal cancer-specific worry and situational anxiety after positive fecal occult blood tests [FOBT (+)] compared wit...

Purpose: Mobile health technology (mHealth) can reduce health disparities, but research on the health behaviors of low-income patients is needed. This study evaluates mHealth knowledge and practices of low-resource safety-net patients. Methods: We administered a 47-item questionnaire to 164 low-income patients accessing services at community health...

Objective Evaluate nurses’ and other health care professionals’ (HCPs) perceptions about implementing mobile health technology (mHealth) in clinical practice to support health care delivery for low‐resourced, safety‐net communities. Design Qualitative exploratory study using data collected from focus group sessions. Respondents addressed four topi...

Working rural women with lower income and less than a high school education require support to eat healthy and are less likely to follow recommended F/V guidelines. Web and mobile-based technologies can promote healthy behaviors and our rural sample appears willing to engage in digital healthcare management. Technologists should consider socio-demo...

Aims: This exploratory study evaluated sociodemographic predictors of healthy eating and physical activity (PA) in a sample of working rural women and their access to and interest in using technology for health promotion. Settings and design: This study is a cross-sectional quantitative analysis. Materials and methods: A 32-item questionnaire...

Provision of some physical activity counsel appears necessary to promote mobile health technology knowledge and use for preventive care. Results hold positive implications for: • Increased care-continuity outside clinical settings • Increased shared decision-making between patient and provider • Increased patient health outcomes • Reduced healthc...

Purpose: Assess relationship among health services received and patients’ digital health-care engagement. Design: Quantitative cross-sectional survey study. Setting: Community health centers in Washington state and DC. Sample: N = 164 adult safety-net patients. Intervention: Not applicable Measures: Outcomes were knowledge and use of health ap...

Background: Student populations in the United States are increasingly diverse, prompting the need to make learning environments in schools of nursing more inclusive. Training for faculty is needed to support this work; however, evidence regarding best practices to make classrooms more inclusive is lacking. Method: A 3-day Diversity, Equity, and...

Introduction: Nurses guide patients and empower them to manage their care, however, patients are becoming more informed from broad-based access to health information. This qualitative study presents an analysis of nurses’ perspectives about the value of mobile health technologies to enhance patient-centered care and to facilitate trust-building fro...

Healthcare providers (HCPs) guide patients and empower them to manage their care, however, patients are becoming more informed from broad-based access to health information. This qualitative study presents HCPs perspectives about the value of mobile health technologies to enhance patient-centered care and facilitate trust-building.

Mobile health technologies (mHealth) like smartphones and mobile health apps can improve patient engagement, care access, and quality of care. Evaluations of patient mHealth practices and healthcare providers’ insights about the value of digital healthcare tools for patient care, can inform efforts to support cost-effective and quality care for low...

Introduction: Mobile health technology (mHealth) can reduce health disparities by improving health engagement by low-income populations. However, most mHealth interventional studies do not target communities largely affected by poor health outcomes. To optimize mHealth interventions for the low-income, an understanding of this population’s health b...

Paper's objectives were to assess mHealth knowledge and practices of community health center patients and to evaluate health service factors predicting mHealth knowledge and practices.

Editorial

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the mediation effect of anxiety and depression on the relationship between perceived health-promoting workplace culture and presenteeism. METHODS: Paper surveys were distributed to 4703 state employees. Variables included symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2 [PHQ-2]); anxiety (General Health Qu...

Background/Aims: Mobile health promotion (mHealth) is health practices supported by mobile devices like smartphones and wireless technology. mHealth delivers health information to increase awareness, provides guided instructions about healthy behaviors and offers self-monitoring of health status. Approximately 58% of adults and 43% of individuals e...

Social and behavioral factors such as culturally-held beliefs about illnesses, discomfort disclosing health information, and language barriers can inhibit a person’s ability to receive or adhere to healthcare practices and lead to vulnerability among the target community. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are individuals who work with community membe...

Purpose. To examine the relationship between perceived workplace health support and employee productivity. Design. A quantitative cross-sectional study. Setting. Washington State agencies. Subjects. A total of 3528 employees from six state agencies were included in this analysis. Measures. Perceived workplace health support was assessed by two ques...

To compare the uptake of three mailed high-sensitivity fecal occult blood tests (FOBTs). We conducted a parallel 3-arm randomized controlled trial in an integrated healthcare delivery system in Washington State. From January 2010 through February 2011, automated data were used to identify potentially eligible patients aged 50-74 due for colorectal...

Background/Aims Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening reduces morbidity and mortality. It is important to understand the effect of a positive fecal occult blood (FOB) screening test result on mental health and general well-being. The goal of this study is to evaluate differences in colon cancer worry, general anxiety and perceived health status among i...

Many trials have tested different strategies to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Few describe whether participants are representative of the population from which they are recruited. To determine risk factors related to nonparticipation among patients enrolled in an integrated health plan and not up to date for CRC testing, in a trial to...

Modifiable health risk behaviors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, and tobacco use are linked to the most common chronic diseases, and chronic diseases contribute to 70% of deaths in the United States. Health risk behaviors can be reduced by helping small workplaces implement evidence-based workplace health promotion programs. The Amer...

Screening decreases colorectal cancer (CRC) morbidity and mortality, yet remains underutilized. Screening breakdowns arise from lack of uptake and failure to follow-up after a positive screening test. Systems of support to increase colorectal cancer screening and follow-up (SOS) is a randomized trial designed to increase: (1) CRC screening and (2)...

Psychological distress impairs the cognitive function involved in planning and decision-making (executive cognitive function), and hinders engagement in health promoting behaviors. This study examined the relationship among distress, executive cognitive function (ECF) and mammography use in African American women at risk for breast cancer. A cross-...

To evaluate the impact of socioeconomic, personal and affective factors on regular breast cancer screening in at-risk African-American women. The study was a cross-sectional analysis assessing socioeconomic and affective predictors of breast cancer screening practices. Unaffected African-American women ages 40-64 with a family history of breast can...

Startle eyeblink modification was examined as a measure of allocation of attentional resources during active attention tasks in the early stage of information processing. Fifty-five participants were presented with a series of 250- and 40-ms tones of either high or low pitch which were followed by startle-eliciting stimuli at a lead interval of 120...

Proceedings of a Metropolitan Washington Council of Government conference to increase the knowledge of current research-based approaches to substance abuse prevention for primary stakeholders, including youth in the Washington metropolitan region

A summary of a conference held on December 1, 1999, which presented the state of the art and science in assessment and treatment of individuals with co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders.

Errorless compliance training has recently been developed as a nonintrusive approach to improving generalized child cooperation (Ducharme & Popynick, 1993; Ducharme et al., 1994). In the present study, we investigated issues of efficiency, durability, and generality of treatment effects to ensure optimal treatment utility. Parents of five children...